A barnburner between top-tier programs lifted the Orange Bowl to its best non-playoff audience in nine years.
Last Friday’s Florida State/Michigan Orange Bowl drew a 6.2 final rating and 11.5 million viewers on ESPN, up 24% in ratings and 28% in viewership from Georgia Tech/Mississippi State two years ago (5.0, 8.9M). Compared to Clemson/Ohio State in January 2014, the final Orange Bowl of the BCS era, ratings fell 7% but viewership increased 1% from a 6.7 and 11.4 million.
Last year’s Clemson/Oklahoma Orange Bowl was part of the College Football Playoff and had a 9.1 and 15.7 million.
FSU’s win ranks as the most-watched Orange Bowl, not counting last year’s playoff game, since Kansas/Virginia Tech on FOX in January 2008 (12.0M). It also ranks third out of the 12 non-playoff New Year’s Six bowls, trailing this year and last year’s Rose Bowl (dates back to 2014).
Figures do not include the 243,000 who streamed coverage on WatchESPN. Adding those viewers to the mix, the game had 11.7 million.
(Numbers via Programming Insider 1/6)
